Summerville rejects Roma to accept Saudi Arabia offer

Roma began preparations for their Champions League campaign with a training session on Thursday ahead of their debut in Europe's elite competition against Fenerbahce in Istanbul on Thursday. Lorenzo Pellegrini trained with the group and is targeting a recall to the squad. The club's focus extends beyond the pitch: director D'Amico has identified a need for a left-sided forward, and Roma are considering Jadon Sancho, currently a free agent. New contact has been made with the English player, with the idea of a pay-per-appearance contract arrangement.

AS Roma are evaluating the possibility of signing free agent Raphaël Guerreiro to reinforce their left-back options, according to transfer expert Ekrem Konur. The Portuguese defender would represent an experienced quality option to complement the wide players at the disposal of head coach Gian Piero Gasperini. Guerreiro has endured a difficult period recently, during which he had even considered an early retirement during the summer. His name is now back in focus on the transfer market as Roma assess whether to bring him into the squad as a reinforcement for the left flank. At present this remains a prospect to monitor, with no indication of active negotiations having begun.

Chelsea have turned to free agents to replace Enzo Fernandez after months of pursuing Manu Koné, who has remained at Roma. Manager Xabi Alonso's side have targeted Georginio Wijnaldum, who chose to stay in Saudi Arabia, and are now tracking Renato Sanches, who is also being followed by other European clubs. Both players had unremarkable spells at Roma and Liverpool respectively. Roma rejected Chelsea's attempts to lure away Koné, a player the club considers fundamental. The midfielder has reinforced his standing as a top performer in Roma's opening three fixtures of the season, confirming his importance to Gasperini's plans.

Alessandro Florenzi has spoken about Roma's return to the Champions League after seven years, expressing optimism about the club's prospects under Gian Piero Gasperini. Speaking to Sky Sport, Florenzi said of the European return: "Certainly I expect many emotions, the ones I experienced on the pitch and which I hope to relive as a fan. It has been missing for too long. Manager Gasperini has done great work, I expect many good things." Florenzi believes the primary objective is to secure another Champions League qualification while maintaining Roma's prominence in Serie A following last season's form. However, he stopped short of directly discussing the Scudetto, saying: "There is a long way between saying that and saying other words that are forbidden in Rome. We will see in spring when the accounts are drawn up where Roma will be both in the Champions League and in the league." On the summer transfer market, Florenzi singled out Paulo Dybala as a key signing. "The way Roma started, I would say Dybala. When he is fit he becomes a player of another category. I hope he can really do well this year and continue as he has started. When he ignites, Roma ignites," Florenzi said. Regarding Europe's favourites, he picked PSG among the main contenders but predicted Barcelona would win the Champions League, calling three consecutive titles "truly extraordinary."

Roma's radio stations have given their verdicts on Saturday's victory over Atalanta, with commentators split between praising the performance and assessing the squad's depth ahead of the Champions League debut on Thursday. Piero Torri of Radio Manà Manà said: "For now Roma are on full points alongside Inter, and these are certainly positive responses. From now until December it will all be a question of injuries: if Roma are not hit by injuries, their squad is sufficient. In any case, Pisilli and Rensch remained on the bench on Saturday, then Pellegrini will return. Without excessive problems, then, the squad is sufficient; in January you can possibly fine-tune something at a quantitative level. In any case, you have 21 players, and good ones too: if you put them on the pitch you don't have a collapse in quality." Torri added that when a team functions well, a player rated 6 can look like an 8. Francesco Balzani highlighted Balerdi's impact as a substitute, calling it "decisive" and praising the victory as "a win in the Mourinho style with Gasperini's football." Antonio Felici stressed that the win over Atalanta showed Roma can succeed even when facing difficulty in the 90 minutes, representing "the victory of self-awareness." Simone Valdarchi echoed the praise for Gasperini's tactical substitutions, saying Balerdi in particular "changed the inertia of the match" and allowed Roma to escape the difficulties created by Krstović and return to dominating play. Nando Orsi noted Roma have scored 10 goals so far and represent "a complete team where everyone can score," calling them underperformers on 9 points in the league table. Lorenzo Pes said Gasperini's next step is convincing Dybala he can score again, noting the striker will want to feature in Thursday's Champions League debut.

Roma's remarkable late comeback against Atalanta has impressed pundit Lele Adani, who analysed the performance on La Domenica Sportiva. Mario Hermoso equalised in the 89th minute before Roma scored again within three minutes, with Adani highlighting the intensity of the attack: Matías Soulé, Paulo Dybala and Santiago Castro all shot during that spell, firing once every 40 seconds in September heat at the Stadio Olimpico with the thermometer at 35 degrees. Adani drew parallels to Gasperini's Atalanta sides, describing Roma's display as an act of faith rather than conventional football. He was struck by Roma's persistence in creating chances even when the match appeared lost and the crowd's overwhelming support. The club completed 39 shots across the entire fixture, which Adani called epic football shaped by the team's determination to attack in the final minutes.